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Level 1

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Very Slow internet on new 27.5" iMac with all updates

I'm not sure when this problem started but I'm pretty sure my wireless internet speed was perfect when I got the mac (December 2009) but I started noticing recently that Youtube was slow, as were my usual news sites which were normally pretty fast - suddenly I was waiting like when I had dial up. I thought it might be router but the other housemate says his internet is fine.

So I tested my EEE-PC and then my iMac with speedtest.net and imagine my shock:

£300 EEE-PC:
Download: 8.84Mb/s
Upload: 0.26Mbs/s
Ping: 51

£2,300 iMac:
Download: 2.66Mb/s
Upload: 0.5Mbs/s
Ping: 50

Exactly the same browser (Firefox 3.6), router, time etc. except one is running XP and one OSX 10.6.2. (I also tried Safari - no dice same result)

Now I've been searching on the net for a solution and I can tell you that none of the usual suggestions have worked, I've tried:

1. Starting in Safemode - no good because it does not load Airport.
2. Repairing Disk Permissions (this made a marginal but consistent improvement).
3. Clearing the cache of both browsers - no difference
4. Inserting OpenDNS DNS settings under Network setting - no difference
5. Turning off the firewall - no difference (possibly slower)

I have not tried finding out and filling in my service provider (Sky)'s fixed IP and DNS etc. as I fail to see why I should be fiddling with those settings when the netbook works perfectly fine with everything set to automatic.

So now I am trying to figure out why my otherwise beautiful mac is running internet speeds 3x slower than a cheap high street netbook and whether the problem is simple setting change or a hardware issue. Its killing me!

I'm not confident that an easy solution lies around the corner but perhaps someone can see what I have tried and may have another suggestion.

Some other info you may want to know:
Sky 10Mb/s Line
Sky router
Intel i7 8Gb RAM
Purely wireless - router downstairs (both netbook and mac in same room)

Thanks very much.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.2), I use both iMac and PC at home

Posted on Jan 25, 2010 2:12 PM

36 replies

Dec 29, 2010 12:04 PM in response to amrelgohary

Yup this seemed to zip things up a bit on my first gen. 27'' imac.

Ben

amrelgohary wrote:
FINAL CONFIRMED SOLUTION:

CHANGE YOUR CHANNELS

MY PREFS. ARE:

Channel08
WPA2-PSK
AES

Djurre

Level 1

0 points

Feb 15, 2011 3:32 PM in response to Aapie

Very odd indeed.

I've had my Imac 27" for about a year now.
It's connected via Ethernetnet with a 8 Mb/sec ADSL internet link.
No problem till a few months ago.
Since then I never got more than 1 Mb/sec where my (much) older wintel machines were still hitting the max 8 Mb/sec (both on WiFi and via Ethernet).

All this time I didn't use the WiFi connection on my IMac.
After reading the tips here on changing the WiFi-channel and the order of network preferences I tried the following.

- Hardcode/fix the WiFi channel on my modem/router to always use channel 8 (and WPA).
- Change the network order on my IMac to first use WiFi and then Ethernet.
- Activate WiFi/Airport

That did the trick. Since these changes I've been able to get up to 100% down- and upload-speed.
IMHO the only things changed since I bought this much appreciated machine has been the OS.
The hardware hasn't been changed at all.
To me it seems a (minor) flaw in the apple OS-software creeped in.
But that's just my end-user opinion.

Feb 17, 2011 11:49 AM in response to Aapie

Reading the latest posts, I think there might be a solution, although I do not quite fully understand them, but will give it a try if I can.

Recently (a few months now), I have had the same problem, the internet was not only slow, but disconnected at times. I use a 24 inch white iMac. Had it for a few years, and only in the last year or so, has this been happening.

Then about a month ago, I had my hard drive replaced because of a hard drive failure, and internet seemed fine, until now. This morning, it decided to run slow again. The speed seems to fluctuate big time. It would load normally for now, and then looks like it has disconnected the next moment, not able to load anything.

Signal is full. Prior to hard drive replacement, I was running on 10.4.11, which was what was running when I bought it, now running 10.5.8, already installed on the replaced hard drive. When I took my iMac to the Genius Bar (before I knew it was a hard drive failure) for a diagnosis, I told them I had internet problems, told them to check my AirPort card, and they said everything was fine.

So basically, the software, OS version, does not seem to be the problem. Hardware checked and should not be the problem. Router was never changed, so that should not be the problem. Problem seems to span across many models, so computer model should not be the problem.
About 3 years with no problems and all of a sudden it pops up with absolutely no modifications to hardware or OS.

Hopefully the suggested solutions work.

From,
Lelouch

Apr 28, 2011 8:58 PM in response to Aapie

I was experiencing this problem myself only it seems mine started all of a sudden. My company netbook (HP) was clocking 20+Mbs down and my iMac 21.5inch was around 1Mbs down.

SOLUTION FOR ME!!! ;-)

I moved my iMac 12" from the wall it's next to. Now I'm clocking almost 30Mbs down.

So. I was just a reception issue which is kinda lame but better than replacing hardware.

macgis

Level 1

13 points

Jun 8, 2013 9:22 AM in response to K31L

macgis

Level 1

13 points

Jun 8, 2013 9:23 AM in response to K31L

Yeh, This works for me:

Router: Cisco Linksys E1000

iMac: 21.5" Late 2012

Thanks 🙂

K31L wrote:

** SOLUTION *

I have found the solution, at least for my own machine. I'm using the O2 Wireless III Box and was experiencing the same issue.

I fixed it by changing the security encryption from WPA+WPA2 to just WPA. This boosted my wireless connection from 1.2MB to 12MB instantly. There was a brief disconnect while it reset the settings, when i reconnected it was super fast and a linespeed check confirmed the faster speed.

I hope this helps anyone else having the same issue. If in doubt request your internet service provider change the encryption type, or alternatively do it yourself if you have access. Make sure your iMac wireless encryption type matches that of your amended connection.

Message was edited by: macgis

Very Slow internet on new 27.5" iMac with all updates